To Be Or Not To Be On-line: Is It Important To Small Businesses?

For most of us, what we do in business is a compromise, between what we would like to do, what we should do, what is practical for us to do, and what we can afford to do. Indeed, in striking these balances we strive to make the right decisions about what is most important to the business.

Why should you take your business online?

Think of it as a meal.  There is (often) a difference in what we would like to eat, what is good for us and what we can afford to eat. I still think the same precept holds true. If you are short of funds you might take a sandwich to work rather than go out and buy a Big Mac.

In the context of this discussion the critical decision is "do we really need a website and if so, what kind?"Will our customers use the Internet or do they prefer to have the face-to-face contact? Even with a strong customer base, the Internet allows us to expand our market to those people who make a majority of their purchases online. Now that more women than men are using the Internet, a business owner must ask this question, “Who are my primary customers?”  In the majority of businesses it will be women as they are the prime purchasers of most products.

In addition, when it is cold and wet outside most people would prefer to shop online than have to expose themselves to the elements.  This is not to say that they would have bought from the Internet as most people like to feel, touch, smell or taste what they buy as it all adds up to the shopping experience.  But if the store had offered a special price reduction to buy online with a guarantee that offered satisfaction to the purchaser, might not the customer be tempted, especially if they were having cold weather?

An added factor is that email marketing (customer relationship marketing) helps the business owner create and strengthen loyalty with its existing customers. Whatever the term, building stronger relationships with existing customers is simply good business practice. It's a lot cheaper to keep existing customers than to find new ones.

What are the essentials you need to participate in the Internet market?

You need a website and that is where a number of small companies hesitate as they believe that a web- site is too expensive for them to develop and too technical for them to maintain.  A website does not need to be too expensive or too technical. There are excellent pre-prepared websites or software that allow you to build your own.

Consider your website to be your shop window for local business.  You would dress your window at least once a month, or more often, to show passers-by what you have to offer.  So should your website present information to advise your Internet visitors about what you can help them with/  Internet Visitors are looking for answers to the problems they have. Your information must help them to resolve these problems. Promote your website address (URL) so that newcomers to your area will recognize it as a sign of quality products, good business practice,  and great customer service.


Ellen Rosen Singer, MBA, Managing Director, BizBuilding Inc. and Executive Director, WomenTeachingWomen.org - 917 678-8937 ellen@bizbuildingstrategies.com

Essentials For Marketing Your Business

A good marketing plan is essential for a business to be successful. It doesn’t matter if you are a small business or a major Fortune 500 company, there must be a plan in place that plots out the marketing tactics and strategies for the year ahead. Not only does a marketing plan plot out a direction for the marketing campaigns that will be in place throughout the coming year, but it also allows a company to look back on the plans from previous years to see what worked and what did not.
The foundation of any marketing plan is having a good idea of what your company does, the products it produces and the services it provides.  If you don’t understand who you are and what you do then it is almost impossible to target the right people who need or could benefit from your business.   Targeting your market will allow you to focus your marketing efforts on a specific group of potential customers that in turn will result in more sales.  If you are targeting too many different groups, or the wrong groups you will be wasting your time and your marketing budget.
Once you have figured out who you are as a company, or what your company does, you must develop a ‘Unique Selling Proposition’ (USP) that tells your potential customers the specific benefits they will get if they buy your product or service.  Your USP must be one that your competition does not, or cannot, offer. It must be strong enough to attract new customers.  This is the basis for all your marketing and advertising efforts. It is the unique advantage you have to sell your business. The USP must be dramatic and memorable. It needs to stand out and attract new business. It should also generate word-of-mouth excitement to drive referrals.

After you’ve built the foundation of your new marketing plan, you need to put together a detailed profile of your target market. With this profile you can identify the perfect customers for your products or services.   Your marketing plan must answer three key questions….

• What types of people make up your customer base?
• Where are they?
• What motivates them to buy?

Few businesses ever take the time to answer these - and other - critical questions about their target market in any detail.  This information will put you in an excellent position to redirect your advertising and promotional efforts and money, refine your sales methods and tailor your marketing to the specific segments most likely to buy your products or utilize your services and will give you a significant advantage in the marketplace.

Changing Direction

 


     A few weeks ago I visited a former client  I  helped start a business several years ago.   At the time, I stood by him while he nurtured his ideas into a great concept and  then helped him build this concept into a thriving business.  We worked together on writing a business plan and putting together financing.  Once he had the money to  start the business I helped him find a location, set up operations, build  inventories,  develop financial systems and so on.

     When this talented entrepreneur finally opened the doors to his upscale store it took off with lightening speed.  After only one year it was profitable and it seemed as if it would continue to grow as the years went by.  That was five years ago.  When he called me two weeks ago to come visit, I was excited to see how things had progressed, to see if he met all the forecasts we cautiously had written into the business plan five years earlier and to see how he was facing the challenges of these difficult economic times.  Little did I know that I was in for quite a disappointment!!

     Nothing had changed in all the time that had gone by.  Just about all aspects of the business had remained the same over the years.   The  same customers frequented the store,  the same vendors were used, and  they used the same marketing materials we had designed at the beginning.   When asked why, this supposedly savvy business owner said there did not seem to be a need to change.  His customers were loyal and happy.  They spent lots of money in his store and for a while  increased their spending to the point that he was exceeding his goals.   Things were so good he saw no need to make a change… that is until the economic hardships that hit the USA a year ago started to impact him too.  All of a sudden his loyal customers could not spend as much as they did at the beginning and many just stopped coming in.  He was having difficulty paying his suppliers and everything seemed to be spiraling downward.

     This business-owners story  highlights the fact that a business needs to continually develop just like people do.  Nothing ever stays the same.  It is great to have loyal consumers, but it is essential to constantly grow your customer base because circumstances change.    A business plan is a fluid document and the goals it sets forth must be reviewed systematically to assess their achievability.   As goals are retired, new ones need to take their place.  If goals are not being met the reason needs to be found.   Marketing plans also need  to reflect the changing consumer base and culture.  This is especially important during difficult economic times.

     So it does not matter if business is good for you, or not, find that business plan you did ages ago, read it over, and map out the next direction going forward…..